TikTok Shop launched in September 2023, just in time to make an impact on the 2023 holiday season. Now, the ecommerce arm of the ByteDance-owned social media platform has had more than a year to learn and is preparing its push for the 2024 holidays.
This year, TikTok Shop is prepping a range of options to promote itself to the season’s shoppers. For starters, it will leverage brands and influencers who are already active.
TikTok Shop’s holiday plans
Most recently, a TikTok event last week in New York City pulled together top creators and merchants to share the secrets of their success. And November will feature even more events to drum up awareness that TikTok Shop is ready for holiday shopping. One example will be Brand Palooza: From Nov. 13 to 27, TikTok Shop will spotlight recognizable brands with exclusive product offers, such as Phillips, Benefit Cosmetics, Liquid IV, HeyDude and The Ordinary Store.
Other events will include livestreams from merchants and a promotional push to get shoppers to use Venmo for payment.
“TikTok Shop seamlessly transitions people from content inspiration to product discovery to purchase, all within the app,” wrote Nico Le Bourgeois, head of U.S. operations for TikTok Shop, in a company blog post. Le Bourgeois said they call this type of shopping “discovery” ecommerce.
Le Bourgeois said sales are growing and praised how the platform democratizes selling by limiting barriers to entry.
“Since officially launching in the U.S., the number of people shopping on TikTok Shop every month has nearly tripled,” Le Bourgeois wrote, adding that “Discovery is central to what we do at TikTok, and I love that on TikTok, any creator, merchant, brand, or product can become a huge hit.”
Holiday season spending in 2024
U.S. online sales during the 2024 holiday shopping season (Nov. 1 through Dec. 31) will grow 8.4% year over year, Adobe Analytics projects. That would mean total sales of $240.8 billion, up from $221.8 billion in 2023.
Even with all the excitement, industry experts don’t think Amazon or Walmart have much to fear from TikTok.
“The advantage is convenience for those who want to try a brand in a seamless buying experience,” said Baruch Labunski, CEO of Toronto-based SEO marketing and digital company Rank Secure, which watches how shoppers find retailers. “It moves from content creator or influencer promoting the brand to the buying portal easily.”
Labunski also believes that TikTok Shop is likely to make the most inroads with younger buyers.
“While I see TikTok Shop growing among younger adults and teens using the platform, I don’t see it as a threat to Amazon and Walmart.com,” Labunkski stated.
Often, those younger buyers have smaller budgets.
“Older adults with the most disposable income who are heads of households aren’t TikTok’s primary users,” he said. “They are wary of the platform and tend to stick with what they know and have used, which is Amazon and Walmart.com.”
How TikTok Shop competes in ecommerce
Still, not everyone is convinced that incumbent ecommerce leaders have nothing to fear from TikTok Shop.
Roxy Couse, director of community and content marketing at the ecommerce experience platform Bloomreach, said that TikTok’s online retail footprint is growing.
“TikTok Shop is becoming a serious competitor in ecommerce,” Couse said. “With nearly 1.9 billion global users spending about an hour a day on the platform, TikTok is turning ‘scrolling’ into shopping.”
She sees that behavior changing the retail landscape.
“Unlike Amazon or Walmart.com, where people come with a product in mind, TikTok’s recommendation algorithm is designed to introduce users to new products and ideas they didn’t know they wanted — turning product discovery into a social experience,” she explained.
It’s that social aspect that other digital shopping experiences lack that could give TikTok an ecommerce edge.
“It’s a trend that’s redefining ecommerce and one that traditional retailers need to watch closely,” Couse said.
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